I am looking forward to hearing about your reaction to our next book, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. It is important to read Kafka because he has a unique style that has influenced other writers. Not only is the writing style unique, but also his plots are very imaginative. I mean who writes a book about a guy turning into a cockroach? Well Kafka does! It is because of his ability to create absurd plots, that society has coined the word “Kafkaesque” to describe stories that are unbelievable. Click here to see the dictionary definition of this word. I never watch Law and Order, but the other day I stopped because there was an interesting conversation taking place in the interrogation room. The detective was describing all the circumstances of the crime and how the suspect fit into it. When she was finished, the suspect said, “Well that was all very Kafkaesque.” And she responded, “Then that makes you the bug.” Well needless to say I was VERY excited, because sitting on the table in front of me was the very book they were talking about. And now you get to read it! The more literature you read the more often things like that will happen. I see references to authors and stories all the time, and it's always exciting to know where it comes from.
Since this is such a short book, less than 50 pages, I want to you research Kafka’s life before you start reading. I will then also post an article or two about the book. You will read those once you have finished the book, and your essay will be based on the articles and the book. Enjoy your reading!
Comprehension Questions
Answer the questions in bold as well as 3 questions of your choice.
Visit this site and read the biography section. What do you find interesting about Kafka?
Chapter 1
1. How do you like the opening line?
2. Gregor does not question the fact that he has transformed into a bug. Why?
3. Describe the different reactions each member of the family and Gregor’s boss have towards him.
Chapter 2
1. What character traits do Gregor’s mother and father exhibit?
2. He becomes increasingly more insect like. Describe the different ways he takes on more qualities of an insect. 3. What does the moving out of the furniture show about the way that his sister feels about him?
4. Why did Kafka choose to have his father throw an apple at him? What does the apple signify?
Chapter 3
1. Now the family is storing junk in his room. What does this show about their ever evolving opinion of him?
2. Who gives up on the notion that Gregor will “get better” first?
3. What was each family members reaction to seeing Gregor dead?
Once you have finished the book, read this article.
5 comments:
Chapter 1
1. How do you like the opening line? I really like this opening line. It’s a very straight forward and to the point statement. After some of the wordy writing we have been reading this sentence is a breath of fresh air. I am enjoying Kafka’s style of writing more than Wilde’s or Conrad’s.
3. Describe the different reactions each member of the family and Gregor’s boss have towards him. His mother is so shocked that she collapses in the midst of her petticoats. His father wept. Gregor’s boss is stunned as well and begins to retreat toward the door. Overall the reception was not welcoming at all. What a bad way to begin the day.
Chapter 2
2. He becomes increasingly more insect like. Describe the different ways he takes on more qualities of an insect. 3. What does the moving out of the furniture show about the way that his sister feels about him? Gregor’s food choices have changed completely. He no longer favors milk or fresh food. It has to be old and stale for him to consider consuming it. When his sister comes into his room he hides under his bed for fear of being noticed. Walking on walls is now a favorite pastime. I think the furniture being removed from Gregor’s room symbolizes his sister’s acknowledgement of the Gregor she once knew no longer existing. She believes he can’t even understand words anymore. From her point of view Gregor the man has completely ceased to exist and all that remains of him is this cockroach. Gregor is actually very lonely and understands words still. He only can’t speak them.
4. Why did Kafka choose to have his father throw an apple at him? What does the apple signify? The apple represents the end of his father’s acknowledgment of Gregor as his son. He too has begun to think of the cockroach as a curse and not longer worth keeping around. It sounds like even before Gregor’s transformation their relationship was not great. His father doesn’t seem to have much compassion or feelings for other people. He seems self absorbed and preoccupied with his worries.
Chapter 3
1. Now the family is storing junk in his room. What does this show about their ever evolving opinion of him? I think the family has begun to think of Gregor as a burden. After a couple months of maintaining him in the cockroach form, they are emotionally and financially drained.
2. Who gives up on the notion that Gregor will “get better” first? His sister first gave up the notation that Gregor would regain his human form. She now thinks that maybe the cockroach is not Gregor and therefore must be disposed of as soon as possible. She refuses to accept the cockroach as her brother any longer. The whole scenario has exhausted her patience and good will towards him.
3. What was each family member’s reaction to seeing Gregor dead? In general the family was relieved to have the cockroach gone. They were also deeply saddened by his death and even wept for the Gregor they once knew in his human form. Now the family could live in peace. It’s interesting to me that neither Gregor nor his family seemed to question the fact of him turning into a cockroach. I mean scientifically speaking its impossible unless a supernatural interference occurs.
Chapter 1
1. How do you like the opening line?
I like it because it gets straight to the point. There is no build up to this event, and its nice to read something like this as opposed to books that take many chapters to get to the main point of the story.
2. Gregor does not question the fact that he has transformed into a bug. Why?
I have no idea! If it were me, i would be freaking out. He seems to accept the fact that he is a bug and try to accommodate this unfortunate transformation.
3. Describe the different reactions each member of the family and Gregor's boss have towards him.
His mother is shocked and faints. His father weeps and helps his mother. Gregor's boss is totally scared and runs for the door.
Chapter 2
1. What character traits do Gregor’s mother and father exhibit?
A little compassion, but mostly remorse for their inconvenient circumstance.
2. He becomes increasingly more insect like. Describe the different ways he takes on more qualities of an insect.
He doesn't like milk anymore, which used to be his favorite drink. He starts thinking less like a human. He begins to crawl on the ceiling and walls.
3. What does the moving out of the furniture show about the way that his sister feels about him?
She is accepting of his condition and is trying to make the room more comfortable for him. Maybe she had given up hope of getting her brother back (that is, in his true human form).
4. Why did Kafka choose to have his father throw an apple at him? What does the apple signify?
His assault of apples is a pathetic rage of incomprehension. Remorse follows, no doubt, for there are no more attacks, but the damage has been done. I think that there is a parallel between Kafka's life and this story. I think that Kafka wrote this book with the idea in mind that he himself was the monstrous insect that nobody understood or cared about.
Chapter 3
1. Now the family is storing junk in his room. What does this show about their ever evolving opinion of him?
They have given up all hope that this bug is actually their son. They think that Gregor is completely gone and in his place is this disgusting bug.
2. Who gives up on the notion that Gregor will “get better” first?
His sister is the first one to give up hope for Gregor. This surprised me, because it seemed like the sister was the one who cared about Gregor most. His parents just tolerated him, mostly his father, and i thought that they would have been the first to give up hope.
3. What was each family members reaction to seeing Gregor dead?
They were relieved and a little sad. But they were not sad for the death of the bug in their son's room. They were sad because their Gregor was gone. But their slight mourning makes me believe that there was still a little bit of hope that this bug was going to turn back into their beloved Gregor.
Book Journal
1. Title: The Metamorphosis
2. Author: Franz Kafka
3. Main Characters: Gregor, Mother, Father, Grete
4. A few sentences describing the character traits of each of the people you listed above.
Gregor is a hard working young man who supports his family with his income.
Gregor's mother and father seem to be only concerned with gaining wealth. Their primary concern is not for their children, but to live comfortably.
Grete is a compassionate girl. She loves her brother, and is willing to do tasks without complaining.
5. Theme of the Book: Living with an unfortunate circumstance.
6. Summary of the Plot: Gregor is transformed into a giant bug, and his family slowly looses hope that he will one again become their son.
7. Moral Dilemma: Should Gregor's family care for him in his state or give up hope for his recovery and let him die?
8. What kind of a response did you feel towards to moral dilemma? What was your response towards the characters actions?
Its hard to know what i would do in that situation, since it has never crossed my mind. I was disappointed in Grete; i thought she would be the one to stand up for Gregor. But instead she was the first to give up hope.
9. What did you think of the plot? The writing style? The character development?
The plot was very weird. I liked the writing style because it was straightforward and to the point. There was very little character development in the start of the book, but by the time i had finished reading, i felt like i knew the characters fairly well.
10. What was your overall impression of the book?
It was a strange book, and very sad because I think that Kafka is paralleling his own life and hardships.
Chapter 1
1. How do you like the opening line? I think it’s an interesting way to start off. I like it because in that first sentence, you dive right into the plot.
3. Describe the different reactions each member of the family and Gregor’s boss have towards him. His Mother was in shock, his dad seemed hostile and angry, and his boss was just scared.
Chapter 2
2. He becomes increasingly more insect like. Describe the different ways he takes on more qualities of an insect. Milk, which normally is a treat for him, he can’t stand; and seems to only like the rotten food and he takes to crawling on the walls and roof.
3. What does the moving out of the furniture show about the way that his sister feels about him? It shows she cares and possibly believes that he might become normal again.
Chapter 3
1. Now the family is storing junk in his room. What does this show about their ever evolving opinion of him? They believe that Gregor no longer exists and interest in him as an insect is slowly but steadily declining.
2. Who gives up on the notion that Gregor will “get better” first? Grete does. Which I think is odd, since she seemed like the only one who actually cared for him after he was transformed.
3. What was each family members reaction to seeing Gregor dead? They were slightly sad but were definitely happy to move on with their lives.
Hey Guys,
Great job on the comprehension questions! This is not an easy book to understand, let along derive the author’s purpose in the story. It is a very abstract story. I’m sure now you understand why the term Kafkaesque was coined. Only his last name could serve to describe his plots.
I am going to respond to your answer’s as a group. I think this will lend to a better discussion, rather than writing individual responses. I will respond to the entire question, and discuss your answers that way. Let me know how this works for you. If you want me to go back to individual responses, I will.
Ch. 1 Q. 1
I’m glad you all liked the opening line. Nothing like jumping right in! Daniel, you are right, very different than Conrad or Wilde. In their writing, they use the entire story to describe their character. Kafka does to, but it is different because you gain the most information about him from the first paragraphs. We learn right away what he does for a job, his family, what type of house he lives in, what his boss is like, and also the fact that he is now a bug.
Q. 2
I find it really odd that Kafka chooses not to discuss the psychological response the characters have towards the metamorphosis that has taken place. He describes just a little of their emotional response, but none of the “WHY?” that we were thinking about. Kevin, I would have been “freaking out” right with you!
Q. 3
This certainly is a “bad way to start the day” like Daniel said. You all did a very good job describing the characters responses to Gregor. It is important to notice things like this, because it helps us paint a picture of the type of people they are.
Ch. 2 Q. 1
Mother and Father exhibit some very poor character qualities, don’t they? Kevin, I liked how you described it as “inconvenient”. That is definitely the feeling we get from the parents reaction. Kafka made no attempt to make M and F endearing characters. You like Grete, but his parents are very selfish. His father is cold, and his mother seems weak.
Q. 2
I think it is interesting that he becomes more and more insect like. The transformation is NOT immediate. At first he can talk, and people understand him. Than that goes away, and his food choices change, then he starts crawling on walls. He slowly gives into his insect instincts. You all did a good job of describing the ways he becomes more like a bug. I think one of the biggest changes, is his desire to hide when humans are around. It is very bug like to crawl into a dark space when humans enter the room. That’s what bugs do, they scurry out of your way. He crawls under the bed when Grete enters the room.
Q. 3
His sister moving the furniture around is an important act. It shows her desire to make him more comfortable. She has noticed that he crawls on the walls now, and that he needs more room, so she tries to make more room for him. This is early on in the story, when she is still concerned about his comfort. Ty, you really noticed this, it does show that she cares, like you said. At the same time, she is accepting his condition, as Kevin put it. It is an important contrast. She is concerned for him, but also acknowledges that he is a bug.
Q. 4
Kevin and Daniel, good job on this question. Daniel, I liked what you said about it “representing an end to his father’s acknowledgement of G as a son.” Very true. And Kevin, you are right it is violent and shows how no one cared for him. But I am a little surprised you both didn’t pick up on the Biblical significance of the apple. The apple represents original sin, it is the proverbial fruit Eve ate. In this case the apple could represent the sin of the father passing to the son. Since it lodges in his body and causes an infection, it could represent his sin. The infection contributes to his eventual death. Thus, sin kills him in the end. There are many ways to think about this. Interesting huh? Most famous authors use Biblically significant images. We saw this in The Grapes of Wrath a few times. Keep an eye out for this type of imagery.
Ch. 3 Q. 1
All of you made very good observations about the family now using his room as storage. It is in direct contrast to what Grete tried to do for him in the previous chapter. When she cared about him, she wanted him to have more room. Now it is as though he does not exists. Or “interest in him is declining” as Ty so clearly summed up. The act of them almost crowding him out of the room does show that “they have given up hope” as Kevin put it. This is another example of their diminishing tolerance of him.
Q. 2
I’m glad that you were all surprised that Grete is the first to give up on her brother. I was surprised by this also because she seemed to be the only family member who had a heart. She voluntarily cared for him, and for a while tried to look out for his best interest. Daniel, what you said about him “exhausting her patience and goodwill” was right on. I can understand to some extent how she did give up on the idea that this bug was her brother. I mean he didn’t look like him, speak like him, or act like him. It would be hard to look at a bug and think, “that’s my brother.” So it is understandable, yet still very sad that her feelings toward him have changed.
Q. 3
The family’s reaction to his death was surprising. They had just spoken of how to get rid of him, and then he dies and they are relived but sad. It is a confusing scene. They mourn him, yet go out for a walk and really enjoy them selves. Ty summed it up well when he said they were “sad, but happy to move on.” I think this is very true. As Kevin put it, “they were relieved.” And who wouldn’t be. But the fact still remains that it was their son and brother who died. It is a confusing mix of emotions. But as we know from the family, they are not good at controlling their emotions. When the father is angry he becomes violent. The mother cannot hide the disgust she feels towards the bug, who is in fact her son. These characters have not from the beginning been able to control their emotions well. And this carries through to the end of the book.
Great job on all your comments! I really enjoyed reading them and seeing how you perceived the events in this story. It is a fascinating plot that I’m sure you won’t soon forget!
Post a Comment